Mike Leake

Sometimes, I wish I was He-Man. Nine words. That’s all he needs. Nine words…and a magic sword to hold aloft. By the Power of Grayskull, I HAVE THE POWER. And with those words an effeminate looking dude becomes the most powerful man in the universe. Not only is he changed but so is his cowering pet, Cringer. Changed into the mighty battle cat. Magic words. I wish I had them. I’ve got junk in my own life of which I wish I could just hold aloft a sword and shout some gibberish and then all would be well. Besetting sins would disappear as quickly as Prince Adam’s pretty … [Read more...] about Why I Can’t Be He-Man

In 2 Timothy 1:5-14, Paul exhorts Timothy to be bold in the gospel and guard this good deposit entrusted to him. In the middle of this passage it is as if Paul sets before his protégé two options. One option is to fan into flame the gift given to him even if it leads to suffering. The other option is to let this gift grow cold and just kind of get by. Such an option will lead to less outward suffering but I’m convinced that it’d wreak havoc on Timothy’s soul. You can’t hold such a fire within your bones. As I thought through Paul’s exhortation to Timothy I applied his exhortation to my … [Read more...] about 9 Ways to Preach Like a Chicken

I wonder what Asaph’s prayers sounded like when he was in the midst of his brutish ignorance. Asaph is the guy from Psalm 73 that was envious of the arrogant and almost lost his faith by fixing his eyes on the prosperity of the wicked. At root, dude was covetous. And so I wonder what his prayers sounded like during that terribly dark season. I wonder if they sound anything like my own. With envious eyes Asaph peeks at the luxurious living of his unbelieving neighbors. They’ve got prime rib and he’s eating a Jewish version of a Salisbury steak TV dinner; which, of course, is closer to … [Read more...] about Why Your Prayers Might Not Be Answered

I ignore thousands of people every day. And you probably do too. As I’m typing this article my social media feeds are still rolling. People are still tweeting, liking, linking, and carrying on conversations. I’ll ignore 99% of it. You will too, because we live in a culture of dismissal. This is why we are told that if you want to get noticed online then you’ve got to stand out. The worst thing that can happen to a writer, like myself, is to be ignored. You can write the best piece in the history of writing but if nobody reads it, then you really haven’t done much. The old acronym is … [Read more...] about The Need For A Decision

Every morning, as I scan through over a hundred articles on Feedly, almost without fail there will be an article or two that has something to do with doubt. (I’ve even written a few myself). These are gritty and honest recollections of a not so smooth relationship with the living God. Some of them are more hopeful than the others—but at the end of the day the message is about the same, “We’ve all got doubts, man, it’s cool if you have them too”. If a thing like blogging existed some 40 years ago I doubt our feed readers would be filled with articles about doubt. Doubt wasn’t cool. It was … [Read more...] about Doubt: A Sexy Virtue

It was only supposed to take a moment. I would walk across the street—change my shoes—and then get back to being Michaelangelo the ninja turtle. Just as I was putting on my left shoe, I heard the most terrible scream of pain coming from across the street. My compadre, Raphael the ninja turtle, had fallen from the rafters in his garage and hit the hard pavement. Game over. Shredder wins. My buddy gets hauled off to the hospital to fix his broken bone. I learned at an early age that when you stand next to a dude with a broken bone all you hear are screams. Playing his favorite song as he … [Read more...] about The Song of Broken Bones

“Whew,” says the relieved dad. He’s just discovered that his twelve year old boy had pulled Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition out of the mailbox and stuffed it under his bed. You might be wondering why dad is saying, “whew”. It’s because he’s actually relieved that his little boy has a swimsuit edition under his bed instead of a muscle magazine filled with half-naked fellas. Dad has been secretly nervous for years that his little boy might be gay. He had told himself that his sons propensity for flowers and playing dress up was just a phase. He kept telling himself that straight guys … [Read more...] about Celebrating a Hollow Victory In Your Child’s Sexuality

You are in a desert wasteland. You haven’t eaten food in days. The last time  you had a drink of water was two days ago. You are parched and your stomach is screaming at you. You don’t know when your next meal or drink will be coming. In the distance you see Monty Hall and boy does he have a sweet deal for you. With the sun beating down on you and sapping what remaining strength you have, you crawl to him. He tells you about the beautiful prize that could be yours. It’s a lifetime supply of the most amazing food that you’ll ever eat. Any restaurant will serve you any food that you want … [Read more...] about Would You Make This Deal?

The oblivious dog was gleefully playing with an old sock. He was tearing into it—creating new holes—and certainly accomplishing some great feat in his little puppy dog mind. And then everything changed. A jolt of electricity flowed into his neck as the shock collar let him know that his behavior was unacceptable. So he stopped tearing into the sock and sat there like a good dog. But the shocks didn’t stop. The poor dog kept yelping and spinning and trying to figure out why in the world he was being zapped. He didn’t know what of his behavior was causing this discipline. Nor could … [Read more...] about Why Suffering Needs Scriptures

I’ve long been intrigued by the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Truth be told I’ve been a bit emotionally bothered by the story. I’ve often read it as if Pharaoh would have repented and turned out to be a good dude around plague #4 but because the Lord hardened his heart he remained a stubborn jerk. I read it differently now. The Purpose of Exodus When I read the Exodus account what I see is a God that is flexing His muscle. He is doing it so that the whole world, and especially the Hebrews, might know who he is. You see this in Exodus 5:2 when Pharaoh says, “Who is the Lord…I do not … [Read more...] about Why Did God Harden Pharaoh’s Heart